Examining HIV/AIDS in the USA: Prevalence, Prevention, and Impact

This essay discusses the prevalence and impact of HIV/AIDS in the United States, highlighting the disproportionate impact on ethnic and sexual minorities. It identifies key affected groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, and men who have sex with men, and examines mortality and morbidity rates associated with the disease. The essay also emphasizes the role of preventive measures, such as antiretroviral therapy (ART), in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS and improving long-term outcomes. It notes a decline in HIV-related deaths following robust interventions and stresses the importance of providing adequate care, treatment, and information to control the virus. The analysis includes statistical data on HIV transmission methods and the varying rates among different populations, concluding with a call for continued efforts in prevention and treatment to combat the ongoing epidemic.

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Introduction
The aim of this paper is to discuss about the plight of HIV-AIDS in USA, identification
of the groups and target population those are affected by HIV, the mortality and morbidity rate
owing to HIV-AIDS, and the role of preventive methods in mitigating the impact of HIV-AIDs.
Discussion
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that
around 1.2 million people are affected with HIV Aids in the United States of America. It is
worrisome to find that 1 in 5 person that estimates to 20 per cent are not aware that they have
been affected with HIV (Dowshen et al: 45-67). In the year, 2010 it was found that 47, 000
people have been newly diagnosed with HIV and majority of the HIV survivors are men. It was
also found that HIV is over-represented in the Afro-American community which is followed by
the Whites and the Hispanics. The first reported case of HIV-AIDS was in June, 1981 in USA.
There are more than 1.1 million who are living with HIV and the estimated case of people who
have died due to HIV-AIDs are 700, 000 (Reif et al: 351-358). HIV is found to have
disproportionate impact certain groups of the population ethnic minorities and sexual minorities
owing to their practises and unawareness about the veracity and preventive methods of HIV-
AIDS.
In USA, there has been a dip in the number of people who have due to HIV-AIDs
following the robust intervention since the peak years of the epidemic. Some of the identified
preventive measures of dealing with HIV-AIDS are antiretroviral therapy (ART) that has led to a
decrease in AIDs related mortality and morbidity and has led to the improvement in the long-
term outcomes for people who are affected with HIV. As per the study conducted by Centers for

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Disease Control and Prevention in USA, an individual who is treatment via the antiretroviral
therapy there usually no risks of sexual transmission is detected. It has been found that many
people who are affected by HIV lack adequate care and treatment and they lack information on
the virus that can be brought under the control. There has been a shift in the HIV related patients.
In the year 2016, it was found that HIV have occurred through male-to-male sexual contact
which is 67 per cent. There is an additional 3 per cent of diagnosis that have been found among
the bisexual and gay men. It is glaring to find that they have a history of injection drug use.
There have been diagnoses attributable to the injection of drug use that has declined in the past
few years. The transmission of HIV is highest among the heterosexual people and it was reported
to be 24 per cent in 2016. It has been found that there has been a decline in the rate of HIV-AIDS
among the heterosexual people to 16 per cent between the years 2011 and 2015 (Millett et al:
341-348). According to the HIV treatment guidelines, ART has been recognized as one of the
important prevention method to reduce HIV. It has been found that the Blacks have the highest
rate of HIV which is followed by the Latinos and the whites. For the Blacks, survival after HIV-
AIDS is lower for the Blacks who have been reported to have highest number of age-adjusted
death rate due to the HIV disease as compared to the other epidemic. Teens and the adults
continue to face risk from HIV. It was found between the year 2010 and 2015 there has been a
decrease on the incidence of death of women due to HIV. It has been found that there is the
incidence of perinatal HIV transmission from the infected mother to the baby which has declined
due to the intervention through ART by the USA government.

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Conclusion
It has been found that HIV-AIDs is quite prevalent in USA and it is the ethnic minorities
like the Blacks and Hispanics who are affected the most due to HIV-AIDS. It was also found that
the sexual minorities are at greater risk of suffering from HIV-AIDS compared to the
heterosexual population. The survival of the Blacks owing to HIV-AIDs is poorer compared to
the Whites. More number of men compared to women is affected due to HIV-AIDS. The most
common method of prevention of the disease is spreading information and ART.

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References
Dowshen, Nadia, et al. "Improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy for youth living with
HIV/AIDS: a pilot study using personalized, interactive, daily text message reminders." Journal
of medical Internet research 14.2 (2012).
Millett, Gregorio A., et al. "Comparisons of disparities and risks of HIV infection in black and
other men who have sex with men in Canada, UK, and USA: a meta-analysis." The
Lancet 380.9839 (2012): 341-348.
Reif, Susan S., et al. "HIV/AIDS in the Southern USA: a disproportionate epidemic." AIDS
care 26.3 (2014): 351-359.